August 21, 2008	Thursday	Sha'aban 18, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Aug 20: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday that the 17th Amendment which had distorted parliamentary democracy needed to be corrected for a balance of power among various pillars of the state.

Talking to a delegation of PML-Q senators from Balochistan at the Prime Minister’s House, the prime minister stressed the need for an independent Election Commission.

According to an official handout, the meeting discussed the overall political situation and Mr Gilani welcomed international support for the democratic process in Pakistan.

He said the sovereignty of Pakistan was sacrosanct and added that the country wanted peace with all its neighbours.

He said that a mechanism of accountability through various committees of parliament was already in place and it needed to be strengthened by giving more powers to people’s representatives.

He said that the accountability should not be a process of victimisation. The senators apprised the prime minister of problems of their areas. Mr Gilani informed them that a special economic package for Balochistan had been launched on his initiative.

Members of the delegation included Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali, Acting Chairman of the Senate, Mohammad Amjid Abbas, Wali Mohammad Badini, Zafar Iqbal, Ms Kulsoon Parveem, Ms Rehana Yahya and Akbar Shah.

A group of 15 MNAs, accompanied by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Industries Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo and federal Minister for Labour and Manpower Syed Khurshid Shah, also met the prime minister at his parliament house chamber.

They discussed with the prime minister the situation in the aftermath of the departure of Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

The MNAs included Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan, Riaz Fatyana, Dewan Ashiq Hussain, Pir Mohammad Aslam Bodla, Khawaja Shiraz, Sardar Mohammad Jafer Leghari, Arbab Zakaullah, Dr Ghulam Haider, Syed Ayaz Ali Shah, Jam Mohammad Yousuf, Usman Khan and Mohammad Usman.